The Syracuse tough guy has not skated all week. He injured his leg late in the Crunch's 7-0 win against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Saturday to win the Eastern Conference title.

"We'd prefer to have him in the lineup. I'm sure the other team would prefer to not have him in the lineup,'' Crunch coach Rob Zettler said. "We have a lot of guys who can do the job. I'm very confident of the guys who can step in there.''

After a surprise in the Eastern Conference final - a loss - the Crunch went on to win the next four to reach the Calder Cup. They've won 11 of 12 playoff games overall.

"I think we've been building this all season,'' Syracuse defenseman J.P. Cote said of his team's ascent to this step. "We struggled at some points. From those moments, we always acted like we were winners. We were never in panic mode.

"I've been on losing teams. It creeps on you. You start losing, you don't have as much fun. It (a winning habit) is hard to put into words. It's our composure. You can't really over-think it. It's a feeling.''

The Crunch have been able to kick back and wait for their opponent in the finals after making fast work of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

"We want to have a great start,'' Crunch forward J.T. Wyman said after practice on Thursday. "Not just Game 1 as a whole. First shift. First period. We try to set the emotional tone, the intensity tone.''